Sweater weather

We got Chloe a sweater for Christmas! But, since it got super cold weeks before, we had to go ahead and let her wear it. We've searched and searched for a coat and have had no luck. I might have to break out the sewing machine and take care of matters myself. She doesn't mind wearing her cute sweater though. And it just adds to her cuteness, doesn't it? This is how we look every mornng now. Warm and toasty!

Zachary and his friend Tyler

The entire Kindergarten class on stage

Zachary dressed for his Christmas program at school. We went to his first dentist appointment several hours before, then came home to eat dinner, and go, go, go! He fell asleep in the car and boy was he cranky. I mean, he was downright hateful. Did not want me to take his pic at school, or on the risers, or during the program. He just wanted to go back home! He barely sang any of the songs, but he knew all of the hand motions. He smiled at the vey end. What a mess! BUT...he is handsome!

Only two more weeks...being a real scrooge

I can't believe that christmas is only two weeks away...this year has just disappeared. I am ready for it to be over. Which is awful, but, this year I am just a big scrooge. It's terrible. I haven't sent any cards, or made cookies, or wrote Santa a letter. Just terrible. I'm not sure why. Been trying to come up with a reason, but, just can't get there. We did take some pics of us all together for maybe a christmas card. I think they look really cute. Kerry was really mad but faked it, not a fan of hats and scarves. Now that is being a scrooge :) Zachary has his big music show tomorrow night. Just Kindergarten which should be comical. I asked him what he was going to sing, and he got real sarcastic and said, "well, Mommy, you know jingle bells and ho ho ho?" well, duh, ya think? Good grief hopefully we can get our act together and be more jolly. We've got two more weeks!

Being thankful

I am so thankful for all of the little things that make up my little life. We are lucky to still have jobs, a roof over our head, and food in the cupboard. The newest member of the family, Chloe Bean has been a joy and I wish we could have gotten her sooner. She play with Zachary but, curls up in my lap too. We just had new windows put in and it makes the house look so much better. I am hoping this will help with our energy bills and keep us a little bit warmer. Nicholas and I seem to be getting along better than ever and he said the other day, that he wished he lived with us. Not sure how to take that, but, it is progress from not coming to visit at all. I think he is really jealous of Zachary, but, he really tries to be a part of the family! The holidays are coming up and we are going to be low key and try to teach the kids the hardest lesson of all...humility. Presents are going to be sparse and instead we each are coming up with one person we can be a good neighbor too. So, four people will be helped by us. I'll keep you posted... here is the photo going on the christmas card this year. Be safe and happy and may you be blessed always!

Halloween

Well, I am late posting this but, oh well. Zachary had a hard time deciding on a costume this year for Halloween. He started as a werewolf, which I had the costume ready, when he changed his mind and wanted to be a ninja. I let it go for a couple of weeks hoping he would forget, but, he kept bringing it up and that we needed to go get the stuff for his costume. We went around and around about it, but, I finally gave in. I made a ninja costume for him and the night before Halloween, he threw a tantrum about how he was going to be a werewolf. I told him that I gave his werewolf costume away, thinking that we would have no choice but to be a ninja, but, that backfired and he said, "well, let's go get it back!" Put on his shoes and jacket and stood by the back door! He only got upset when I said no, I was not going to start over, it was too late.

He has only had one other tantrum and that was at Toys R Us. It was a bad parenting moment for me! Thankfully, he got over it fast and was a very good ninja! And I think I did a pretty good job with his costume. I said he could be a werewolf for next halloween, but now he says no, he wants to be Wolverine! Good grief!

My ribbon winner

For the past couple of weeks, Zachary has been going on and on about how he has made the team at school. I have no idea what he is talking about. Now that he is in school all day, he can't wait to get out to the car and talk, and talk, and talk. But, it is so random and if you want to talk more about a particular subject, you need to wait until the next morning over breakfast. Well, he just kept saying that he made the team for his class, and that he ran a race. Then, a letter is sent home from the gym teacher saying that my child has won a ribbon in the school olympics and there is a ceremony, blah, blah, blah. Once again, I thought that every child probably won a ribbon right? No, of course not. Imagine how silly I felt when I found out that they ran a race of so many yards and were timed. Each and every class. Then they gave girls and boys from each grade medals, gold, silver and bronze. Then, they gave six kids, from each class, who were really close to getting a medal, a ribbon! Which was Zachary! I was so proud, even though I had no idea what he was talking about, he actually did. Who knew! I should have asked the teacher! The ceremony took two hours, lots of kids names to announce and it was hot and dark in the gym. My pics are terrible, so, I took some when we got home! He is my little winner! Love you little boy!

Fall winds begin to blow...

Fall is my favorite, favorite, favorite time of year. I love all of the leaves, the cold air and the just watching all of the outside animals getting ready for winter. We have had an awesome summer, hardly any humidity, so, winter might be a bit scary this year. I have a whole pantry cabinet and freezer in the basement full and waiting, just in case snow comes early! I love snow too, did I mention that? What I like the best about it, is I just get to stay home! Yay! This is Chloe in the leaves. She likes to put her nose under them and root around like she is hunting for something. She is a silly dog! She doesn't like the cold mornings going outside though. I think I am going to need to knit her a sweater, except that all I can knit is a square! Yikes! Oh, well, that's what Wal-mart is for :) Enjoy the seasons!

Busy, busy squirrels

Well, we have been super busy lately. School is really throwing off our laid back kind of lifestyle. Now, we have to have a schedule, bedtime, waking time, get dressed, eat, make a lunch, put backpack together, out the door-and that is just Zachary! The dog needs out, needs breakfast, needs attention, the husband is up, takes a shower and then goes back to bed! What!?!?? Help me! Every morning, I have been finding myself slowly losing my mind! Not sure how to fix it, but, ice cream is somewhere in the mix :) Anyway amidst all of this craziness, somehow, we do manage to still get out and socialize. My grandfather turned 85 this past month and we went out to eat with the family. I took some shots of the boys. They are growing up too fast!

Sneaky, sneaky

This little animal is a spying machine. Just barely able to see out the back door, she is capable of sneaky, sneaky things. Squirrels, rabbits, even the neighbor's are unaware they are being watched. She is a stealthy breed only revealing a tiny nose and two big ears! This dog spends more time on her back two legs than any other dog I've ever seen. If only she could reign in her little gruff ruff and ferocious growls. It scares all of the birds away!

It's a rainbow

What is THAT? These are real, don’t adjust your screen settings! These are Zachary’s birthday cupcakes. He wanted Rainbow cupcakes and so, I had to do some research. They are just a white cake mix divided into six different colors using food coloring, layered into the cupcake liners. They really don’t look that appetizing on film, but, they were really cool when you bit into them. And, they worked! They really were Rainbow cupcakes. You couldn’t taste the food coloring either. They were sort of pastel, so, next time we could put more color in and really make something awesome!

Happy Birthday Babycakes

Well, I can't believe that my baby is six years old. Where did 5 go? Went by in a flash! We opted out of a big party, I did five in a row, I needed a break. Zachary still wanted to go back to our Messy Party (from two years ago) where everyone painted and slew glitter all over the backyard, maybe next year! Still, we had Memaw's and Papaw's from both sides over for cupcakes and ice cream and he had a week long celebration. The weekend before, my parents took him to see G-Force (a movie about spy guinea pigs!). On Friday, we went to the Boonville football game and saw the gang. Z's best buddy Jake and him are sooo cute together. They have so much fun! Except, that it started sprinkling in the last three minutes...and then downpour, torrential downpour. We were soaked all the way through our jeans, socks and shoes! Oh my goodness, we were too wet and shivering to go to their house afterward (sorry Blankenships!). On Saturday, we had been saying all summer we were going to Burdette for his birthday, swim, fish, picnic. But then we woke up, it was freezing outside. End of August and it was 65 degrees out! What a bummer! So, instead, we just went fishing, which means, we just went to Audubon, and cast our lines over and over and over. Z thinks that is fishing and he loves it! We took a picnic and the puppy and had a really good time despite the clouds and cold. We had our little party on Sunday and on Weds we had our traditional birthday breakfast (eggs, bacon and cake, it's a great way to start the morning), and then he went to school where it was "Z day" all day long. We gave the teacher a book for her classroom, (something I think I will try and do every year!) Bea and Mr. Jones, which she read and Z said all of the kids laughed in the right spots! He got to wear a crown all day and he got to be line leader. And the letter of the day was...Z!! What a big deal! He wanted to give all of the kids Fruit by the Foot (something I try and not buy for us at home, so, he sneaked that one in!). I took the day off so I could pick him up and then we went to Lic's for ice cream with coupons from a really good friend (thanks Jo Ann!!!) We had pizza for dinner and then watched Hotel For Dogs to top it all off. He had a great day!

First Day of School

Well, it has taken me a week to get to the place where I can look at these pictures and not get teary eyed. Zachary went to school last Wednesday. He is officially a Kindergartner. It was a really proud moment, but, so sad. He is my only baby! So, now I will be spending my days and mornings off from work, all alone. He was nervous, but super excited. Because he got to use his lunch box and backpack, he was so ready to go. I cried on Tuesday (the night before) because I wanted to be upbeat on the morning of. But, as we were leaving the building and other kids were screaming and mom's crying, I just couldn't hold it in and so, Kerry and I sat out in the car and cried together! It has been great past five years and Zachary is such sweet and good little boy. He is going to be great at school and I am so proud of Kerry and I for getting him this far! Now, if I can only just let him get lunch through the lunch line! Yikes! You will notice that he already was into the blocks on his desk when I was trying to say goodbye! Oh well, I love you babycakes!

Mama Mia

Kerry loves pizza. If it were up to him we would eat pizza at least three times a week. I like pizza too, just not to that extreme. As a matter of fact, he has sort of burnt me out on it. I actually can't stand the thought of it. That is so silly, because, everyone loves pizza. It is the all-american (sort of) meal. So, we have been making some resolutions for our family to save money and pizza takeout got the cut. Of course, I was told that pizza should be on our must have list, right next to Vectren. So, I had better come up with a replacement plan. I found this really nice cookbook, Baking Illustrated, that really details how to make your own everything basically. I have been a little nervous to try, because, honestly, everything with yeast that I have tried to make has failed big time. And Kerry is so picky about his crust, and sauce and toppings, etc, etc, etc. Anyway, last night I decided to dive in and go homemade. I had to let the dough rise for three hours, crush my tomatoes for the sauce and slice pepperoni. And I will take a moment to say...it actually all worked! Sometimes, I truly amaze myself. Plus, it was really good! AND...it only cost, all total, about $8 total. I already had some of the ingreds. $8!!! Nice!

I know this put the pressure on to make it like this every week, but, I actually enjoyed it! And the dough made two pizzas, a cheese and a pepperoni. And who knows, maybe I will make pizza, deliver and make some extra money! Maybe! :)

Buddies

Best friends are the greatest things!

Kerry's big day

Well, July 21st was Kerry's Birthday. So, we celebrated the weekend before. Nicholas was with us, and so we had our traditional yellow cake with chocolate icing and ice cream per Kerry's request. The boys made cards and we got him some expensive coffee from the Briar and Bean. He was thrilled, as he has been bugging me for some time now to get something better than Folgers!

Here are the boys blowing out the candles. You will notice the lack of clothing and nice underwear prints on Z and N. Prior to this, the boys had a war! What does that mean? Well, they wanted to do something fun with daddy and that can only mean one thing.





Two buckets full of these nifty little things. While a little time consuming to get ready for, these are tons of funs when your birthday is in July and it is 100 degrees outside. They had a blast and were soaked! But, mostly just some good 'ol fashioned fun with Dad!

My new found green thumb

Last year this is all we had, we planted too late and ended up with only green tomatoes. This year, I put them out at the beginning of May and this is what we have so far.





Until last week, when we had this! I can't believe it. I kill everything that is trying to grow and this year all of my flowers are still alive, my lavender plants are huge and I managed to grow actual food that we can live on! Well, not on one tomato, but...more are coming! I'm very proud!

This is Chloe keeping an eye on all of the birds and squirrels outside. Since she is too small, she needs a lift up. How cute is her tail sticking straight out at attention. She is all business!

It never fails....

I am never surprised by people's reaction to chocolate. Last week I made a Tunnel of Fudge cake. It was the richest chocolate cake I've ever tried to bake. I followed the recipe perfectly, but, for some reason, it came out really gooey in the middle. The idea was that you put the cake ingredients in a bundt pan and then bake it only for 50 minutes in the oven and then let it sit and bake on its own on the cooling rake for two more hours and then flip it out of the pan and cool again for another hour. I know, it was a highly technical endeavor for me, the cake mix queen. But, I thought the picture in the cookbook looked awesome. It had six eggs, two sticks of butter and so on and so on, my thighs are growing just thinking about it. The point was that it would be baked on the outside ring and gooey on the inner one. Well, I thought it was too gooey so, back into the oven it went for another 20 mins and then I quit with it and called it a disaster. But, I still had an entire cake, which when sliced would have fed twenty. I brought it in to work, and it was devoured inside of 15 minutes. "It was the best cake" they all had ever had! You've got to be kidding! There is no picture, there weren't even any crumbs! So, I guess I will keep it in the 'ol recipe box :)

Here comes the Tooth Fairy

I have two parenting books that I got for baby shower gifts that I absolutely adore. I have read them for every possible ailment and milestone that Zachary has been through for the past five years. And they have answered so many of my questions, before I even asked. But, let me tell you, that there is no chapter of teeth losing. I have been worried about this stage since our first dentist visit six months ago. Dr. What's his face said that Z's teeth were going to come out soon, and that makes sense, because he had his first tooth at three months. I am not looking forward to it. I remember my teeth losing episodes, which involved screaming from me, screaming from my mother, screaming from my father and screaming from me some more. I never let them pull my teeth out, they just had to stay there until they gave up and fell on their own. It was a tramatic time for me, and it also meant that I only lost one tooth at home! So, I have been asking Z once a week if any teeth were loose yet and so far so good. Until last week! Yep, a bottom tooth, was, guess what, loose! Great! I was thrilled, not! Z was! He had to call everyone he knew! And all week long, his hand was in his mouth wiggling that stupid tooth. All day Saturday, I was a nervouse wreck because he kept wiggling, wiggling, wiggling! We were brushing teeth at the end of the day, he spit, and out came a lot of blood. And the tooth just about went down the drain. I almost lost his first tooth. That would have been great! Well, we managed to decorate an envelope and put his tooth inside. Then, he looks at me and asks, "Mommy, is that Tooth Fairy for real?" I don't know, she's sneaky like Santa Claus. She came and he got a dollar. Not sure if that is the going rate for teeth these days, but, that's what he got. Maybe two for tooth number 2! Yikes!

Still Swimming

Zachary has started swimming lessons! For the next eight weeks he will learn how to hold his breath, blow bubbles under water, kick and float, and more. He jumped off the diving board at the end of the first class, so, I think he is ready. This is the first official thing we have paid for him to do, so, I wasn't sure how he was going to do, but, once again, he just waved goodbye to me and in he jumped. I am so happy he has that side of Kerry's personality. He is willing to try anything at least once--even green beans (which we have tried dipped in every sauce made to man and go figure, he likes them with spaghetti!) I really need a new digital camera (hint to the hubby or Santa) so, the pictures aren't that great, but, I put them on here anyway! It is a class of all boys, and the one crying in the one above, right behind the teacher, never stopped. He sat there on the side the entire 45 minutes and never let up, poor thing! Hang in there Cambden :)

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming

To take the phrase from one of my favorites, Dori from Finding Nemo, this describes Nicholas's newest venture. Swim Team the Howell Torpedos. He has practice twice every day! Does that sound a little serious for 10 year olds? Anyway, he is not a great swimmer, but, he will definitely learn quickly. They already have their first meet on Tuesday! Here are some action shots from Friday, which was just a tad chilly to be swimming!

Yummy!

One of the blogs that I follow is Annies's Eats-Annie is a girl living in Indy and makes food that is easy and down to earth. Not too fancy schmancy. When I saw this recipe on her blog, I knew I had to try it, just to see if I could do it. These are awesome, and even Kerry, who doesn't eat raisins, tried one. I call that a huge success! He didn't say he liked them, but, he didn't say they were bad :) Zachary and I have eaten all of them. They are really good for breakfast with coffee. And don't tell Little Debbie, but, they were really easy to make and took no time at all. The only thing I didn't already have in the kitchen were the oats. I think these will be at the next work party for sure!

Harder than the Wii

Well, yesterday was Zachary's Day of our vacation. He wanted to go bowling, for real, so off we went. He did awesome for his very first time, he got a 79! I have a hard time doing that. He had a really good time and has asked when we can go back. We were the only ones there so, it was weird to be the only ones cheering, but, Z bowled a strike! And while it took him about halfway through to get the hang of it, he said that it was a lot harder than the Wii! Does that tell you how spoiled these children of today are! Somehow we all ended up with matching shoes too, which, he wanted to bring home with us. We then went to Lics for Chocolate Malts (courtesy of JoAnn from work, she gave us coupons to enjoy on our vacation! Thanks JoAnn!) It was a really good idea since I think the last time Kerry and I went bowling was about three years ago, and trust me, it showed! Of course, Kerry can not lose ever, so, he had to be evil the last frame of the game. Boo hiss hiss!